Collar-stiffener.



PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908.

M. MANN. COLLAR STIPFBNER.

APPLICATION FILED APR, 1 1 1906.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARTHA MANN, OF BARMEN GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO BAND-INDUSTRIE G-ESELLSOHAFT MIT BESOHRANKTER HAFTUNG, OF BARMEN, GERMANY.

COLLAR-STIFFENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14, 1908.

Application filed April 11. 1906- Serial No. 311110.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, hTARTHA MANN, ne l/VlNDl-IOFF, residing in the city of Barmcn, Empire of Germany, it henish Prussia, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, have invented'a new and useful Improvement in Collar-Stifl'eners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to a new and improved method of making collar stiffeners and girdles and the like and it consists in arranging or constructing a frame or foundation comprising two longitudinal strips of flexible material and a number of steels, whalebones or canes connecting the strips, the steels being removable in said strips so that they may be changed by such of differ ent length. This fabric may either have a rectangular shape or transformed into any other convenient curved form by bending the strips and employing steels of different length. In this manner a lady will be able to form a stiffener in the shape to please her in the most simple andconvenient manner. The frame may be covered if desired with some textile material.

My invention is fully illustrated on the accompanying drawing on which Figure 1 is a top view of the stiffener, Fig. 2 is a similar view of a stiffener showing some particulars of construction, Fig. 3 shows the complete stiffener, Fig. at is a vertical section of Fig. 2.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in the drawings.

a and b are two longitudinal strips, one forming the top piece and the other the bot tom piece of the frame or foundation of the collar stiffener. These strips are made of flexible material so that they can be bent or a flexible member as for instance a wire i may be incorporated into said strips which preferably are folded in cross section to form a double material. For the same purpose a cord 7c may be sewed or woven along the edges of the strips as shown in Fig. 2. The strips are connected by whalebones or steels (Z. For this purpose each strip which as described before is made of U-section contains a number of pockets 0 which are obtained by tion.

stitching or weaving the strips accordingly leaving openings at the inner sides of the strips to form the pockets. New in these pockets the ends of the steels (Z are introduced and as the steels are not perma- 5 nently fastened to the strips they may be easily removed and changed. in their posi- I then am enabled to curve the strips in any desired form and in order to obtain the connection of the same steels of corresponding length are employed. in Fig. 1 is shown such a curved portion of the top strip in consequence of which a longer steel (Z is introduced. The steels may be also placed in an oblique position as shown to connect the strips.

The steels may be held in their pockets for instance by slings p as shown in Fig. 1, said slings projecting from the strips. The stays are rounded or tapered at their ends and provided with lateral recesses s. hen the stay is introduced into its pocket the sling engages the recesses and the stay is hold fast in its pocket.

in Figs. 2 and f another manner of fastening the stays is illustrated. The top and bottom strips employed in this modification are each U shaped in cross section as will be seen from Fig. at and each of the said strips forms at its inner edge openings as before described for the entrance of the stays, a cord a running along the edge closes the said openings and is also enabled to hold the stay in its pocket. Each strip may be also fitted with a cord or thread It on its outer edge.

lVhat I claim is: i

As an article of manufacture a collar stiffener comprising two longitiulinal strips of a Ilexible material, a number of trans- "erse steels or stays connecting said strips to form a skeleton or frame said. stays being of different lengths and changeably fixed and means to fasten the steels to the strips as described and for the purpose set forth.

MARTHA MANN \Yitnesses: V

O'r'ro KoNic, ARTHUR hLi'r'rniiUs. 

